In 2008 Michel Gondry’s wonderfully underrated comedy BE KIND REWIND hit theaters. If you’re familiar with that film you’ll know it’s about the act of “Sweding” popular movies, which is basically to remake movies on a very, very, very small no-budget scale. It would appear that Gondry wasn’t the first person to do this.
35 years ago Steven Spielberg’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was released. This film inspired three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi to set out on a 7-year-long journey to create a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the Indian Jones adventure. Remarkably the boys finished every scene with the exception of one; the film’s explosive airplane set piece.
More than twenty years later the boys are now men and they’ve reunited with the original cast to complete their adaptation. Filmmakers Jeremy Coon and Tim Skousen have documented their story in RAIDERS!: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE.
Drafthouse Films and MVD Entertainment are gearing up to release RAIDERS!: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on August 16th. The release will be loaded with special features, one of which will include a side-by-side comparison of the original RAIDERS trailer and the trailer for the adaptation. Fortunately this trailer has been made available now and it’s fascinating. It blows my mind that 11-year-olds were able to make something this close to the original. Don’t believe me? Have a look for yourself!
Raiders! Shot for Shot, Side by Side Comparison from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
Related Topics: One Perfect Shot, Video
